(ENCORE!) We spoke on JTG’s bonus Breakin’ Nooz this week about eBay agreeing to pay $56 million to Ina and David Steiner - the unassuming, nerdy married couple that eBay executives terrorised with live cockroaches and spiders, a bloody pig mask and a funeral wreath - all because Ina wrote about negatively about eBay on her nerdy industry blog ‘ECommerceBytes’. When we first released this episode, eBay had been found guilty, the CEO had lost his job and the Steiners had sued the company for compensation, but not yet agreed on an amount. It turns out Ina and David kept turning eBay’s offers do...
(ENCORE!) We spoke on JTG’s bonus Breakin’ Nooz this week about eBay agreeing to pay $56 million to Ina and David Steiner - the unassuming, nerdy married couple that eBay executives terrorised with live cockroaches and spiders, a bloody pig mask and a funeral wreath - all because Ina wrote about negatively about eBay on her nerdy industry blog ‘ECommerceBytes’. When we first released this episode, eBay had been found guilty, the CEO had lost his job and the Steiners had sued the company for compensation, but not yet agreed on an amount. It turns out Ina and David kept turning eBay’s offers down, until eBay agreed to give them every last thing they wanted - and they had some very specific demands. (BECAUSE THEY DESERVE IT! The CEO literally had spiders sent to their home!)
Listen to this crazy story again, or hear it for the first time and marvel that the company whose motto is 'People are basically good' did any of this. This is Just The Gist (MINI!) of the eBay stalking scandal: former CEO Devin Wenig, the 'take her down' email, Jim's Angels, the pig mask from 'Saw', and David and Ina Steiner, who to this day are still cheerfully writing about eBay's seller fees (but, you know, a whole lot richer).
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eBay Saved Search Feature Disappoints Savvy Seller (EcommerceBytes, 2026)
eBay agrees $56m settlement with bloggers over harassment case (BBC News, 2026)
Whatever It Takes: Inside the eBay Scandal (ABC iview, 2024)
Inside the eBay stalking scandal: How a couple became the target of harassment (60 Minutes on YouTube, 2023)
Six Former eBay Employees Charged with Aggressive Cyberstalking Campaign Targeting Natick Couple (US Department of Justice, 2020)
EcommerceBytes, Ina and David Steiner's e-commerce news website
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